This is now an open-source book. Anything you choose to pay for the Leanpub version will go entirely to the DevOps Collective’s IT scholarship programs. Visit GitHub.com/dsccommunity/TheDSCBook to contribute to this project!

Microsoft MVP Award recipient Don Jones and in-the-trenches DSC expert Missy Januszko tackle the enormous and complex topic of Desired State Configuration (DSC) in this "agile-published" book that will continue to be expanded and updated over time. Covering everything from design principles and infrastructure deployment, to configuration authoring, and to custom resource design and programming, you'll find everything you need in this comprehensive tome. And what you might not find in this book will be added and revised over time - making this your "forever" book on the subject, unlike traditionally published volumes.

The DSC Book is designed to help you understand how DSC works, and how you can use it in a variety of scenarios. Examples are, for the most part, extremely concise - they're intended to help you understand the needed structure and approach. You should already be very familiar with coding advanced functions ("script cmdlets") in PowerShell, or consider purchasing Learn PowerShell Toolmaking in a Month of Lunches to gain that background knowledge. The practices and approaches presented in the book come from real-world engagements and experiences, and will continue to evolve over time as more and more people engage with DSC. Those "over time" learnings will be incorporated into the book, hopefully making it the last DSC book you'll ever need to buy.